George Zimmerman’s defense attorney, Mark O”Mara confirmed Thursday, he will assert a ‘stand your ground’ defense on behalf of his client.
O’Mara said on the website, GZlegalcase.com, that “now that the State has released the majority of their discovery, the defense asserts that there is clear support of a strong claim of self-defense.”
The date for a ‘Stand Your Ground’ hearing has not yet been determined, but a judge will rule ultimately whether Zimmerman can claim to have acted in self-defense under the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law.
In a ‘Stand Your Ground” hearing, the burden is on the defense to prove that the evidence fits the conditions of the “Stand Your Ground” law, O’Mara noted on the website. In a criminal trial, it is the prosecution that must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Zimmerman has said he shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old unarmed black teen in self-defense, after the two encountered each other in a gated community in Sanford in late February. He has also said, he was unaware of Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law at the time of the shooting.
Zimmerman is out of jail on a $1 million dollar bond.
